Board game guide
Wingspan
Grow a habitat one bird at a time.
Wingspan rewards patient engine-building and small discoveries. Each bird changes what a habitat can do, so the satisfying part is watching simple actions become an ecosystem.
- Players
- 1–5
- Time
- 40–70 min
- Experience
- Strategy table
- Track
- Final points
How to play
Give the table a clear rhythm.
Use this as a quick first-game guide, then keep the official rules close for edge cases and exact details.
Choose one action
On every turn, play a bird, gain food, lay eggs or draw bird cards. Place an action cube to show your choice.
Play a bird
Pay its food and egg costs, then place the card in its matching habitat. Resolve any immediate “when played” power.
Activate a habitat
Use the leftmost open action space, take its reward and move the cube right to left across birds with brown powers.
Close the round
After all action cubes are used, score the round goal and leave one cube on the goal board. You will have one fewer action next round.
Score the preserve
After round four, total bird points, bonus cards, round goals, eggs, cached food and tucked cards.
Before the first turn
Set up for a smooth start.
- Give each player a mat, action cubes and starting resources.
- Deal bird cards and bonus cards, then make the required starting choices.
- Prepare food, eggs and the bird-card display.
- Choose the green or blue side of the round-goal board together.
Make it a season
Let every habitat tell a longer story.
Record total scores and the winner of each session. A season can rotate goal-board sides or expansions while keeping overall standings stable.
Create your season- Result
- Final score + placement
- Season points
- 5 / 3 / 2 / 1
- Bonus
- Highest single habitat
- Tiebreak
- Food, eggs and cards